Aiden is sent to Hawaii to stay with his father, whom he has never met. But when he arrives there he discovers there is no one to meet him. He has no money, and his mother and stepfather do not want him back. Devastated at their betrayal, hungry and heartsore, he walks away from the airport in a random direction, only to be beaten up and have his belongings stolen by vagrants. But Aiden is a fighter. The next morning he determines to find help, and on his way he sees three children being attacked by dogs. He jumps in to save them, and the consequences of this act of bravery leads him down a brand new path. Aiden soon learns that he can choose his own family, and that his past need not always define his future.

Dog Days

In the silence of that drawn out minute, my roommate, who was still on the phone, said, “And the gown? It’s cream with chartreuse rhomboids on it! Jesus, Ross, you haveto get me out of here! Chartreuse clashes with my eyes!” My eyes were still on Lefty’s face but he had squeezed his eyes shut and was biting his lip. “And my asshurts!” my roommate ended.


Chapter 11